An Evolving Exploration into the Head, Heart and Hands of Energy Descent
Transition Culture has moved
I no longer blog on this site. You can now find me, my general blogs, and the work I am doing researching my forthcoming book on imagination, on my new blog.
This is a wonderful clip. Matt Simmons is the author of ‘Twighlight in the Desert’, is a leading US investment banker, and a long-term advocate of the peak oil argument. When he was asked to go on CNBC’s ‘Fast Money’ to discuss the high oil prices, he clearly stunned the presenters with his forthright analysis of society’s current perilous situation. When asked if $147 a barrel is a ‘wake up call’ he replied “yes, but we’re not having a wake up call, we’re having a witch hunt for who got us here”, a succinct analysis of the current world situation. What was especially fascinating to watch was when he was asked for his prognosis of the near future.
I have mentioned Transition Tales here previously, it is the work that Transition Town Totnes has been doing in our local secondary school, working with Year 7 students raising awareness about energy issues and doing visioning work about how a post-oil world might be. Over the last couple of months the Transition Tales team has done the Transition Tales work with all of Year 7, and in the following article, project co-ordinator Hannah Mulder gives an overview of the project.
Yesterday morning, while chivvying my kids along to eat their breakfast and clean their teeth (not simultaneously), I had one ear on a piece on Radio 4’s Today programme about the economy and recession, prompted by Marks and Spencer’s dismal drop in share price, and its CEO talking of “stormy times ahead” for the UK economy. One of the guests was Sir Martin Sorrell (right), a businessman, who attempted to offer an upbeat picture of the future for the UK economy that left me scratching my head.
Here is an article from one of our local newspapers published last Friday, which takes a Transition-tinged look at the current oil crisis.
Why Oil Crisis Could be Trigger for a Better Future. Western Morning News. 20th June 2008
Crude oil prices trading at a record 140 a barrel. Truck driver strikes leading to panic buying at petrol stations across the country. Saudi Arabia promising to pump more oil after desperate calls from world leaders. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the global economy’s third oil price shock.
Here is an excellent article that appeared in Sunday’s Observer, which discussed peak oil and also mentioned Transition…
Oil Crisis: £100 to fill up the tank? Just get used to the idea.
By Jamie Doward, Gaby Hinsliff, Lisa Bachelor and Tim Webb. The Observer, Sunday June 15 2008
Queues at petrol stations may be a chilling taste of things to come. Prices are soaring, experts warn of shortages ahead, and some say the world is running out of fuel. Already people are getting out of their cars and finding other ways to travel, while less scrupulous drivers are stealing diesel. Has the motor car just stalled – or are our driving habits changing for ever?
How might our response to peak oil and climate change look more like a party than a protest march? This site explores the emerging transition model in its many manifestations
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I have mentioned Transition Tales here 
